- One of the oldest Catholic schools in the UK, New Hall School was founded in the Belgian city of Liège in 1642, settling in Boreham, Essex, in the grade I listed Tudor palace of Beaulieu, in 1799.
- The coeducational day and boarding school has 35 acres and earmarked three acres for a farm in 2018 with rescue animals including pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, rabbits, geese, quail and guinea pigs. Senior pupils learn routine grooming and training, and the farm’s popular inhabitants have featured in art, photography, French and biology projects.
- Excellent sports facilities and coaching from the England hockey masters international Karen Cooper and the former England cricket captain Nasser Hussain mean pupils compete at county, regional and national levels in a range of sports. Recent alumni have pursued careers in rugby and athletics. Golf is becoming more popular and a school academy specialises in producing elite players.
- The co-curricular programme is broad, with clubs from knitting to computer science and a full range of music and dance. Students can seek calm in New Hall School’s health and wellbeing centre.
- Former pupils include the CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour and the fashion designer Anya Hindmarch.
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